This is because the homeowner wants to sell as soon as possible to avoid foreclosure altogether. However, homes that are well kept and have few problems will probably sell closer to what the home is actually worth.

So how does one go about buying a home that is in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure? There are just a couple of things to keep in mind.

When looking for a home that is pre-foreclosure, you need to make sure that you have the funds readily available. This can be done simply by having the cash or by having the proper financing.

Also, because the seller will want to have a final sale as quickly as possible, the buyer needs to make sure that they can speed the closing process up as much as possible.

There are many ways to find out which properties are in pre-foreclosure. If a home is in default, this becomes public record so the local courthouse will have documentation about what homes are in pre-foreclosure. The Internet has also made listings of homes in default very accessible.

You can simply search "foreclosure listings" or you can contact actual foreclosure companies. These companies will often have a cost associated with the service. These sites will have information available about buying homes that are in foreclosure along with their listings.

When a property has entered post-foreclosure, the property has already gone to the lending company. Often though these companies cannot sell the home at auction and so, they will list the property with a real estate agent.

They then become "Real Estate Owned" property. If buying a "Real Estate Owned" property, it may cost a little more than if the house were to be bought at auction. However, buyers will have more access to these properties and the buying process will go much more smoothly.

This is not to say that "Real Estate Owned" property is going to be extremely pricey, either. These homes are generally still sold for less than they would be if the homeowner had simply placed them on the market.

This is because the lending companies don't want to spend a lot of time selling the property, and they also don't want to pay the expense of owning the property. And so, they will sell it for a fairly cheap price.

Homes that the government owns are listed at www.HUD.gov. Here there are a number of homes that are sold by many different agencies.